Over the last year or so a group of Buffalo Christians, coined Relevant Worship Ministries, have been taking steps to go beyond the comfort zones of their churches and reach out in love to the people in the city of Buffalo.
This summer, they've been participating in "Chalk Thursdays at the Square". The idea is simple and beautiful. You come downtown, you write and draw on the sidewalk, you make friends with the people hanging out there and over time you build friendships, offer help and support where you can, and try to follow through with loving your neighbor as you love yourself.
After checking out the weekly photos and group news on Facebook, I decided to take a field trip with Heather and Heidi to help out and learn more about this city outreach.
We all met around 7 pm at Liberty Square. There were tons of people there as they have concerts downtown every Thursday evening. There were various organized groups all along Main Street. Some were protesting the war in Iraq, some were promoting abstinence from alcohol, some were there to directly confront people on religious issues (with matching shirts, signs and tracks), and then there was Relevant - with hope, desire to love on the people we met, and buckets of chalk.
We said our hellos to the group members as they began to gather. The chalk drawing was started by a little girl of one of the mom's who came to help. Heather, Heidi and I gradually picked up some chalk and began to draw and write.
It was interesting to see that the chalk writers had already built relationships with some of the people downtown. Kids and teens ran up to them, hugging and saying - "The chalk people are here!" They joined in the fun and helped create a community coloring book on the streets of Buffalo. Introductions were made, names were learned and love was being shared.
About forty minutes into our chalking, a city policeman pulled up the street and parked about half-way between our drawing zone. I remember looking up for a moment and going back to my drawing, assuming that he was just checking out the security of the area.
While I was busy drawing, one of my fellow chalk artists shouted, "Hey, he's going to ticket us!" I looked up to see the police officer collect the chalk from the group on the far end of the area that we'd been drawing and tell them to cease, desist, and disburse. I quickly finished my thought I'd been working on in the sidewalk and went down to collect chalk from Heather and Heidi so they wouldn't get in trouble.
The officer walk a little towards our direction and told us that as of Thursday it was illegal to write on city sidewalks in chalk.
We all stood around shocked for about ten minutes, wondering what we can do next now that our chalk was locked in the back seat of the police car, when a girl came up to me and asked, "Hey are you the Hope Love Lady?" I looked puzzled for a moment and said, "Oh, you mean what I was writing?" She smiled and said,"Yeah, here's your chalk back!" and walked away.
In all of the noise, drama and potential messages that this teenage girl could have remembered about Thursday at the square, she returned the chalk to me and held on to the words: "Hope and Love".
I wish that we could have had more time to learn her name and to talk about the person Jesus that gives me love and hope everyday. Even in our short exchange, she taught me that even when you're stopped doing something as innocent as sidewalk chalk by the police, the message of love, hope, and even faith is more impressive than all the drama in Liberty Square on a Thursday night in Buffalo.
By the way, Relevant Worship Ministries is not stopping their outreach to the community of folks in Liberty Square on Thursdays. They may not be allowed to bring sidewalk chalk, but being there for the community is what is more important. You never know Buffalo, next Thursday it might be bubbles they're sharing!
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